NEWS

We are shocked and saddened to learn of the passing of Pete Shelley. Pete was the great romantic of the punk era and one of its truly great songwriters. In 1978 it felt like Buzzcocks released a perfect single every two months and they were regularly beamed into the living rooms of our provincial homes via Top Of The Pops like a pop art post punk Beatles . We bought their singles for 49 pence from Woolworths on the day they came out and played them repeatedly, over and over again.. I even remember getting a copy of their Love Bites album for my thirteenth birthday present. Played it to death.

Now it’s 40 years on and we’re all grown up and Domino is the proud guardian of the Buzzcocks incredible catalogue. We have been preparing a re issue campaign for next year which Pete had just signed off on the art and packaging for. We are so sorry that Pete isn’t going to be around for their reissue.

We send our love and respect to Pete and his nearest and dearest and we salute his eternal pop genius.

James Yorkston will release his new album The Route to the Harmonium on Feb 22nd 2019; produced by Yorkston and David Wrench, it is James’ first solo record since 2014’s Cellardyke Recording and Wassailing Society (CRAWS) and follows the two collaborative albums he made as one third of Yorkston/Thorne/Khan as well as the release of his debut novel Three Craws in 2016.

Alongside the announcement, James has shared new song ‘My Mouth Ain’t No Bible’ - one of three thrilling spoken-word pieces on the record. It thrums insistently, military snares punching away, Yorkston’s delivery interplaying as two competing voices, one of himself, the other a lost musician friend, “a spare hand, a hired hand, a deck hand” who was unable to prevent self-destruction.

The album was almost entirely recorded by James himself, in the small Scottish fishing village of Cellardyke, where he lives. Yorkston’s studio is a ramshackle old loft space, originally used to repair fisherman’s nets, and now stuffed full the antique instruments James has collected throughout his life as a musician. Having created hours of recordings, James called up his old collaborator David Wrench - the mixer and producer who has worked with the likes of Caribou, Four Tet, Frank Ocean, FKA Twigs and David Byrne - and someone who has worked on James’ albums since 2003 – to help make sense of the sessions.

The Route to the Harmonium (or, ‘the search for peace’) is intensely personal; it’s the sound of home, of undisturbed craftmanship. Listen closely and you can imagine him putting it together. Overlaying vocal and guitar tracks, adding further with Dulcitones, harmoniums and autoharps, with nyckelharpa, the distinctive Swedish stringed instrument given to him by a friend. And friends and family, past and present swim all over his songs. Remembering them, and those you’ve shared life with, those who leave and those who remain, is the strongest thread running through these affecting, extraordinary songs. This is Yorkston’s world and could be nowhere else in music.

James adds: “I guess, as a musician and writer, I find myself reacting to what goes on around. So, this album is about life, the life that carries on around me. There’s family, place, and the being away from family that the life of a touring musician brings… But there’s also reference to friends departed – the hows, the whys – When a friend jumps ship it’s always a haymaker to the gut, you know? And this album is about them, but it’s more about us, us who are left behind...”

James Yorkston will head out next month for his traditional solo Christmas shows, with a full UK tour following in May, whilst in January, Yorkston/Thorne/Khan will take in a tour of Ireland.

Rustin Man aka Paul Webb has announced his return. Webb, formerly the bass player in Talk Talk, will release his new album Drift Code on February 1st 2019 via Domino.

Webb has released one record under the moniker Rustin Man so far, the superb Out Of Season in 2002 - a collaboration with Beth Gibbons of Portishead. He has been working on the follow-up ever since, recording it in his home, a converted barn, in an Essex field three miles from the nearest village, an extraordinary building as much Old Curiosity Shop as modern living space. Creating that, and raising two daughters with his wife Sam, was happening alongside the making of Drift Code.

The long-awaited album has a warm, wise kind of euphoria to it, coupled with an acute sense of storytelling and surreality. Additionally, Rustin Man has shared the opening song, ‘Vanishing Heart’, from Drift Code.

Webb, who for the first time has written songs specifically for his own voice, turns out to be a gifted character actor, adopting various vocal roles across the songs. In ‘Vanishing Heart’, he is someone liberated from a loveless relationship: “At last I’ve found more warmth to feeling / It feels so good to be alive”.

As you might expect from someone of Webb’s pedigree, Drift Code is a deep, detailed work. The passage of time, the living space full of art, treasured objects and junk, the years spent listening to film music and ‘40s standards are all audible. But there’s a surprising spontaneity to it too. Though he did much of it alone, Webb’s recording technique made the music feel as if it has been recorded by a group of musicians playing in the same room. Raw demos written on a Dictaphone provided the basis for tracks begun with drums played by Webb’s former Talk Talk and O’rang colleague Lee Harris. Then, one instrument at a time, Webb created arrangements from multiple takes, each one recorded with six microphones positioned at different distances from the instrument. This way he could place each instrument in a different part of an imagined room. When he had finished all the guitars, he picked up a bass and went back to song number one. When he’d got all the bass lines, he moved on to keyboards. This approach means that Drift Code’s songs have matured, in a unique way.

“Through the necessity of recording over a long period of time, the album has a kind of unfixed or uprooted quality. As if the songs belong nowhere so hopefully belong everywhere” adds Webb.This echoes the haunted sound found on Out Of Season, which may become a Rustin Man trademark, the sound of a semi-opaque window onto a real or imagined past, of time trapped in amber. No surprise, considering there’s a decade and a half of its creator’s life inside these songs, time spent reaching out for something ungraspable.

“I called the album Drift Code as it’s an oxymoron, a code is something fixed, but our instinct is to wander, to drift. I like the idea that life is a puzzle that can’t be solved because the answer is always changing.”

Noah Lennox's sixth solo album as Panda Bear is Buoys, due out February 8th, 2019 on Domino.

The first song to be released from Buoys is “Dolphin”: Lennox’s bright, sincere voice front and center, with miles of space surrounding it, a guitar and some textured samples fleshing out the dubby sparseness and undercurrent of speaker-limit-pushing sub-bass low-end.

Buoys was co-produced and co-mixed by collaborator Rusty Santos in Lennox’s adopted home of Lisbon, Portugal. Lennox and Santos last collaborated on the landmark Panda Bear album Person Pitch, which had its 10-year anniversary last year.

Animated by their ongoing interest in contemporary music production techniques, Lennox and Santos envisioned something that would “feel familiar to a young person’s ears.” However, Buoys retains a deep layer of experimentation coursing through the hyper-modern production – a hallmark of Panda Bear releases that will feel intimately familiar to fans of Lennox’s decade-plus body of work.

Alongside Santos, Buoys also features collaborators in Chilean DJ/vocalist Lizz and Portuguese musician Dino D'Santiago, both artists who came to Lennox via Santos’ recent trap and reggaeton production work; the former contributes arrangements throughout the album including “Dolphin,” and both lend their vocals to “Inner Monologue."

Buoys is the first Panda Bear release since 2018's vinyl-only EP A Day With the Homies, and the follow-up to 2015's kaleidoscopic full-length Panda Bear Meets the Grim Reaper. "The last three records felt like a chapter to me, and this feels like the beginning of something new," says Lennox whilst surveying how Buoys relates to the estimable Panda Bear catalogue. Indeed, the forthcoming Buoys is full of fresh ideas from one of modern music's most fascinating, innovative, and emotionally generous artists

Buoys will be available on CD, LP, and Limited Edition LP, and digitally on February 8, 2019. The CD and Limited Edition LP along with a limited edition T-shirt are available to pre-order via the Animal Collective webstore. Buoys artwork was created by Danny Perez, with photography by Fernanda Pereira, and with additional design by Rob Carmichael, SEEN.

07/11/18

An exciting opportunity has become available at one of the leading Neighbouring Rights collection agencies. Double Six Rights Management is seeking a self-motivated and driven individual to support with the day-to-day operation of the company and to help maximise revenue for both label and performer clients.

Part of the Domino Music Group, Double Six Rights was founded in 2011 and now boasts an extensive roster of over 200 label, performer and producer clients from across the globe, including internationally renowned artists, influential indies, and sought-after producer/session players.

This role is a fantastic opportunity for someone to develop their experience in all areas of Neighbouring Rights and working with a focused and dedicated team in South West London.

Key accountabilities include:

To liaise with collection societies around the world to ensure performer and label clients are affiliated correctly, drawing up paperwork and auditing memberships

To assist the team with the management of performer and label data across Domino and Double Six clients

To undertake catalogue research and gather any supporting evidence which may be required to support claims

To assist the team with reviewing airplay reports to ensure that Double Six is maximising revenue for its performer and label clients

To assist the team with work on society unclaimed lists

To review and process recording disputes at societies

Analysing revenue received from societies on a regular basis to understand any gaps in payment from the catalogue

Essential:

Excellent written and verbal communication skills

Enthusiastic and results driven

Supportive and a great team player

Competent with Excel

Excellent organisation and planning

Analytical and thorough with excellent attention to detail

Desirable:

Advanced knowledge of Excel

Understanding and experience in Neighbouring Rights with knowledge of overseas collection societies

Experience of working with artists, labels, managers, lawyers and accountants

Sorry have today shared ‘Starstruck’, their new single on Domino and the follow up to 2018 7” release ‘Showgirl’/’Twinkle’ - which received glowing praise from Pitchfork, Stereogum, Dazed, BBC Radio 1 and BBC 6 Music. The pixelated sultry video for ‘Starstruck’ was directed by the band’s Asha Lorenz and frequent Sorry visuals collaborator Flo Webb, and received its premiere via The FADER who said “Flirtation and sexual tension are rife throughout the whole affair, with the pixels becoming more and more prominent as the hedonism increases.” While Lorenz explains, “‘Starstruck’ is is our homemade ode to saucy old pop videos.”

Following a brace of sold-out headline dates at The Whirled Cinema and The Courtyard Theatre, Sorry have announced their next headline show at Dingwalls in Camden on 28 March 2019 - tickets are available here. The band will also head out on tour with Shame in November, beginning with a date at Manchester’s o2 Ritz on 22 November and culminating in a huge show at The Forum in London on 30 November.

Sorry have already aired two rapturously received visual mixtapes Home Demo/ns Vol I and II -creating a beautifully distorted and intoxicating world around their visceral music - and gaining fans across tastemaker press and radio with singles including debut ‘Wished’, ‘2 Down 2 Dance’ and recent cut ‘Showgirl’.

Centred around Lorenz & Louis O'Bryen, two 20 and 21-year-old childhood best friends, Sorry were signed by Domino after developing a reputation as the most thrilling new band on London’s underground circuit. Joined by Lincoln Barrett (drums) and Campbell Baum (bass), the band have already toured with Sunflower Bean, Shame, Childhood, PIXX, and this summer with (Sandy) Alex G.

To mark the 40th anniversary of the original releases, Domino are very proud to announce details of the re-issue of Buzzcocks seminal first two albums, Another Music In A Different Kitchen and Love Bites, on Friday 25th January 2019.

Both albums have been lovingly restored and re-mastered from the original ¼” tapes for the first time and come packaged in the original Malcolm Garrett designed sleeves with lavish 8-page booklets containing unseen images and extensive liner notes by famed writer, broadcaster, music journalist and cultural commentator Jon Savage.

Faithful to their original track-listings, the re-issues see the albums released on vinyl for the first time in many years and they will be available on deluxe 180g vinyl and CD.

The albums follow the Domino re-releases of their debut EP, Spiral Scratch and Time’s Up, a collection of demos, from 1976.

Famously taking their name from ‘It’s the buzz, cock’, a headline from a Time Out review of 1970s TV music drama ‘Rock Follies’, Buzzcocks formed in Bolton in 1976 by Pete Shelley and Howard Devoto, who have a strong claim to have kick-started a musical revolution in Manchester having organised and played at the now famous Sex Pistols show at Manchester’s Lesser Free Trade Hall in 1976, a show which inspired and spawned the likes of Joy Division, The Fall and The Smiths.

Having recorded and pressed their debut EP, Spiral Scratch, in December 1976 for a cost of £500 (the single would go on to sell 16,000 copies in the first six months of release on their own New Hormones label), the band soon under-went personnel changes with founder Howard Devoto leaving before they signed to United Artists and embarked on the recording of their debut album.

Recorded at Olympic Studios in London between December 1977 and January 1978 with producer Martin Rushent and featuring the line-up of Pete Shelley (vocals / guitar), Steve Diggle (guitar / vocals), Steve Garvey (bass) and John Maher (drums), Another Music In A Different Kitchen was released in March 1978 featuring a distinctive cover by Malcolm Garrett whose work would become inextricably linked with the band.

Within six months of their debut album release, the band had recorded and released its follow up. Again working with Martin Rushent at Olympic Studios, Love Bites was recorded in late July 1978 and released in September of that year. Reaching number 13 in the U.K. album charts, it featured their highest charting single, and arguably best-known song, Ever Fallen In Love (With Someone You Shouldn’t’ve).

By the end of 1978 with the release of these albums not only had Buzzcocks established themselves as one of the leading-lights of punk but proved themselves as deft songwriters capable of producing three-minute-mini-masterpieces that would endure long after the initial spark of punk had faded.

After releasing a third album, A Different Kind Of Tension, in 1979 the band continued for a couple of years before finally disbanding in 1981. The band would re-form in 1989 for a number of shows and they have continued to play live and record albums since featuring original members Pete Shelley and Steve Diggle.

Another Music In A Different Kitchen will be available on Deluxe LP (REWIGLP126X), pressed on silver heavyweight 180g vinyl, Standard LP (REWIGLP126) and CD (REWIG126). Love Bites will be available on Deluxe LP (REWIGLP127X), pressed on white heavyweight 180g vinyl, Standard LP (REWIG127) and CD (REWIG127). Both Deluxe vinyl versions come with a recreation of Buzzcocks’ classic carrier bag and are available exclusively via indie retailers and Dom Mart.

Listen to ‘I Don’t Mind’ from Another Music In A Different KitchenHERE and ‘E.S.P.’ from Love BitesHERE The track listings of the albums are as follows:

24/10/18

Domino seeks a Head of Digital to lead digital strategy and innovation across the Label Group.

The role will explore and execute opportunities for Domino’s global digital business and operations. The Head of Digital will lead projects, deliver partnerships and strategic insights to: expand the reach and commercial viability of Domino's catalogues and campaigns, to adapt to shifts in the marketplace, and to advance our digital workflows and innovations.

Key Responsibilities:

To lead the global digital business at Domino Recording Co, including strategic commercial partnerships.

To oversee the global digital account management and operations team and its integration with the rest of the business, and to maintain a high level strategic overview across existing DSP relationships and make recommendations to the MD and Board.

To lead digital business development and deal negotiations in collaboration with our business affairs team. To analyse digital revenue streams and the commercial and financial viability of each deal.

To keep an outward focus and explore best practices around emerging technologies and new digital opportunities. Identify and implement new digital initiatives to aid artist campaigns.

To oversee digital operations onboarding and best practice across all commercial digital partners.

To lead best practices around metadata and catalogue monetisation.

To input on long term high-level revenue forecasting for the label’s digital business and retain an outward focus on how market trends may affect the company’s P&L. To liaise with the MD & Board on all aspects of the digital and technology landscape – including revenue analysis and new developments.

Requirements:

Significant experience in digital account management and operations, digital new business and digital marketing.

A passion and deep knowledge of technology, curiosity in new digital trends, and an understanding of how new technology developments affect music and consumer behaviour.

An entrepreneurial spirit, with strong business acumen and analytical skills, married with a fundamental understanding of the music industry and its intersection with the tech world.

Experience in managing people and collaborating across multiple departments and international territories.

An open and honest communication style, with the ability to nurture positive collaboration through diplomacy and a solutions-driven mindset.

Arctic Monkeys release the 7” of ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’, the title track of their current album, on Friday the 30th of November. The single features a brand new b-side, entitled ‘Anyways’.

The band have also launched ‘Warp Speed Chic‘, directed by Ben Chappell and previously shown as part of the band’s AM:ZM exhibitions (with photographer Zackery Michael) in London and Sheffield.

“After spending a year documenting Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino I wanted to try and pull it all together in a short film. I spent a few weeks with the band in France documenting the recording process with my 16mm camera in September 2017. At that point I was still only hearing bits and pieces of the tunes as they were being recorded. Nearly a year later I was on stage with them in Lyon France shooting some of those same tunes. When the film came back from the lab I put the live songs next to my shots of them recording and found it to be quite nice. With that as a starting point, I then used James Ford's instrumental mixes of the album and put an assortment of the images we created for this album overtop giving a glimpse into the last year and the full progression of Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino.” – Ben Chappell

The ‘Tranquility Base Hotel & Casino’ 7” is available to pre-order now, out 30th November - http://smarturl.it/TBHC7Inch